Animals - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1784700827 ISBN 13: 9781784700829

Publisher: Vintage, 1676

Synopsis

Christopher Isherwood was a world-famous novelist when he met Don Bachardy on a Santa Monica beach in 1952. Despite a 30-year age gap, they lived as an openly gay couple in closeted Hollywood. In these charming letters, Isherwood is the stubborn old workhorse Dobbin, Bachardy the playful young Kitty. Candid and affectionate, they draw the reader into the private world of the Animals, offer gossipy sketches of Isherwood's writer and actor friends, and chart Bachardy's burgeoning career as a painter.

About this title

About the Author:

Christopher Isherwood (1902–1986) was born outside Manchester, England. He lived in Berlin from 1929 to 1933 and emigrated from Europe to the United States in 1939. A major figure in twentieth-century fiction and the gay rights movement, he wrote more than twenty books. Don Bachardy was born in Los Angeles in 1934. His artwork, which parallels David Hockney's and anticipates Elizabeth Peyton's, is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the de Young Museum, San Francisco; the Fogg Art Museum of Harvard University; and the National Portrait Gallery, London, among others. He lives in Santa Monica, California.

Review:

“Theirs is an enormous love, but it also clearly came with an enormous amount of work and care . . . One of the best surprises of the collection is what an excellent writer Bachardy is--wry, sharp and funny . . . These are tender, sweet, campy love letters we are given the privilege of reading, if we so choose.” ―Annalisa Quinn, NPR Books

“It is a fascinating sociological document while, like most exchanges between two people wrapped up in the tantalizing subject of themselves and each other, lacking very much real interest in the wider world.” ―DJ Taylor, The Spectator (London)

“In her excellent introduction to The Animals, Bucknell does a skillful job of trying to interpret the lovers' talk for the reader. Apparently Bachardy reminded Isherwood of his younger self--and indeed there was a strong physical similarity. The letters end in 1970 and Isherwood died in 1986, survived by Bachardy. But thanks to The Animals Isherwood's devotion lives on. As a typical sign-off from Dobbin put it: ‘Love from a devoted old horse who is waiting day and night with his saddle on, ready for his Kitty's commands.'” ―Mark Simpson, The Independent (London)

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 1676
• ISBN 10: 1784700827
• ISBN 13: 9781784700829
• Binding: Paperback